Naruto: Swarm System

With a press on the back of Konan's neck, Shishou put her into a deep sleep and carried her back to the palace in the Land of Demons, leaving her in the care of Priestess Miroku and Uzumaki Eri.

After completing this task, Shishou took a look at the letter in Konan's hand before casually destroying it and disappearing from the spot.

In a small town on the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, Shishou arrived at a bridge at the address Nagato had mentioned in his letter. He soon found Nagato waiting there.

"Why did you call me here?" Shishou asked directly.

Nagato calmly replied, "I want to move up the date of our duel. If you agree, you can make a simple request of me."

Nagato had exhausted all the power within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, causing his progress to stall. He didn't want to delay any further and give Shishou more time to grow stronger.

Hearing Nagato's request, Shishou frowned.

His Rinnegan had not yet awakened, and he needed more time to continue his Sage training. The idea of an immediate battle caught him off guard.

However, seeing Nagato's determination, Shishou realized that refusing might provoke Nagato into causing trouble.

Thinking quickly, Shishou said, "Give me the Four-Tails and Five-Tails."

With the Great Slug Sage on his side, Shishou wasn't particularly afraid of Nagato.

Nagato shook his head. "I said a simple request."

Shishou narrowed his eyes, his expression hardening. "Then give me a tail each from the Four-Tails and Five-Tails."

He figured that if he defeated Nagato, he could try to take the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. However, to be safe, he wanted to secure a guaranteed reward first.

"Agreed," Nagato nodded. "One month from today will be our duel. I hope you keep this matter confidential until then."

Although he didn't want Shishou to grow stronger, Nagato needed some time to prepare. He also didn't want Uchiha Obito to learn about the changed date.

Nagato never fully trusted Uchiha Obito.

"Bang!"

Nagato pressed a hand into the air beside him, summoning the long-haired Animal Path, which handed him a scroll before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Nagato tossed the scroll to Shishou. "Here are the tails of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails."

A Wood Release clone of Shishou caught the scroll. "I need to know Sasori's whereabouts."

Nagato disappeared with a "bang," his voice echoing in the air. "He's gone to the Land of Earth. Find him yourself."

The Land of Earth...

Shishou narrowed his eyes as his clone opened the scroll.

"Bang!"

With a burst of white smoke, two large tails, one red and one white, appeared before him.

"Not bad," Shishou said, placing his hand on the tails. He absorbed a significant portion of their energy and stored some cells in a storage scroll before discarding the original scroll and disappearing.

...

In his secret laboratory, Shishou sat on a couch, deep in thought.

Nagato's proposal to move up the duel had caught him off guard.

Although Shishou wasn't afraid of Nagato, he wanted to prepare thoroughly just in case.

However, his Rinnegan wasn't awakened yet, and he hadn't started cultivating the Tenseigan. His options seemed limited.

After some thought, Shishou considered two possibilities: using all his current resources to accelerate the growth of the Great Slug Sage, enhancing her strength further, or using the resources to cultivate the cells of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, increasing the amount of their chakra within him, and then heading to Takigakure to find the Seven-Tails.

Alternatively, he could proceed as planned without rushing.

With mastery over Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode and the Ryuchi Cave's Inorganic Reincarnation technique, Shishou was no longer afraid of Truth-Seeking Balls. With the Great Slug Sage's help, he felt confident.

After some deliberation, Shishou glanced towards Rin Nohara's room.

"Perhaps it's time to deal with Uchiha Obito as well."

With this thought, Shishou disappeared.

In the Land of Demons, in the priestess's palace, Shishou checked on the sleeping Konan before heading to Priestess Miroku's room. He woke her gently and lifted her from the bed, smiling. "Let's go out for a while."

Given the past two or three years, the energy accumulated from the demon Moryo's erosion should be significant. It was time to let the Jofuku Bug feast and lay eggs.

The more otherworldly energy the Jofuku Bug consumed, the more eggs it could produce.

The energy accumulated from Moryo's erosion over two or three years should allow the Jofuku Bug to lay three or four eggs. Shishou hoped one of them might be a Spirit Medium Egg, which could bring someone back to life.

Of course, getting other powerful eggs would also be beneficial.

"Alright," Miroku agreed, not questioning where they were going. She got dressed and left with Shishou.

The scene shifted.

Shishou and Miroku soon arrived at the Sealing Cave where Moryo was imprisoned.

Inside the cave, the demon Moryo was sealed within a massive crystal, now surrounded by black lines, almost completely covering it.

These black lines were the chakra energy from Moryo's continuous erosion of the crystal seal. At this rate, Moryo would break free within a year.

"In just three years, it has reached this level. The sealing crystal can only contain the demon for about four years," Miroku said, frowning at the sight of the black lines.

However, Miroku wasn't overly concerned.

With her current strength, she could easily reseal Moryo alone. With Uzumaki Eri's help, Moryo had no hope of escaping.

"Let's hope for good results," Shishou said, releasing the Jofuku Bug.

The ethereal blue insect, resembling both a butterfly and a moth, immediately caught Miroku's eye.

"It's really beautiful."

Even though she had seen the Jofuku Bug before, Miroku couldn't help but marvel at its dreamlike appearance.

It was the most beautiful insect she had ever seen.

The Jofuku Bug flew directly to the pitch-black crystal sealing Moryo, landing on it.

Instantly, the black lines within the crystal began to vanish at a visible rate, restoring the crystal to its original state.

The vast amount of otherworldly energy excited the Jofuku Bug, causing it to flutter its wings.

In no time, the black areas created by Moryo's erosion were completely gone.

Even Moryo's dark aura seemed to fade slightly.

The Jofuku Bug returned to Shishou's hand, laying three eggs of varying sizes into his palm.